Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or any recognizable characters.
A/N: This is going to be a short story about Claire; how she handles finding out that Quil imprinted on her several years ago, how she puts up with her Mom's new dorky boyfriend, and how she deals with being a measly freshmen. Maybe six or seven chapters, depending on how much you guys like it. So, please don't hesitate to tell me what ya'll think.
Rawr.
Average Risk-Taker:
Chapter 1.
I woke up to a very, very, very annoying sound that I knew all too well. And I think every other teenager in America will agree with me when I say that 6:00 AM is too freaking early to wake up, even for school or whatever. Seriously, it took all of my self-control to not reach over to my side table, grab the damn alarm clock, and chuck it out of my window. Instead I just rolled over to face away from the stupid device, mumbling profanities under my breath as I did so.
There was only one good prospect about waking up this early to face my personal prison only an hour and a half later, and that was to see Quil Ateara.
Quil has been my best friend since before I can remember, and I owe him more than I could ever afford. He's like a big brother, a protector, and well... a puppy. Actually, I suppose he's more of a horse-sized wolf. Yeah, Quil Ateara is a freaking werewolf - a freaking werewolf who takes the liberty of driving me to school every morning.
That was the point when I realized I was smiling softly to myself, and I immediately shook my head groggily to rid the stupid expression. It was embarrassing to be so happy to see someone, even when that person knew me better than I did. See, the thing is, I think I'm falling for my werewolf.
OK, maybe it's stupid to fall for him. I've only just turned 15, and he's like... older than me. I'm not sure how old, considering him and all of my Uncles (and Aunt) look the same age they've always done. It's something to do with the werewolf gene, I guess. It's like, no matter how much you age on the inside, as long as you can just 'poof' into a fur-ball then you don't age on the outside. (And between you and me, they haven't actually seemed to age much on the inside either. If you don't believe me, then go to Emily's and watch them having XBox duels.)
But still, Quil is old, and I'm not.
Yet I still can't help wanting what Aunt Emily, Aunt Rachel, and Kim have though.
"Claire! Get your skinny ass outta bed already!" I groaned, trying to block out my Mother's sudden yelling. I'd been so lost in my thoughts that I had actually managed to drown out my alarm, and the persistent shouts from downstairs. I was actually kind of proud of myself, but I just shook my head again and rolled out of bed - literally.
Landing hard on my wooden floor, I winced. Unfortunately, this wasn't an unusual action for me, and even with my layers and layers of blankets wrapped around me, it still hurt.
"Claire!!!" My Mother's voice filled my ears again.
Slowly, I got to my knees, reached over to turn my alarm on snooze, and then stumbled over to my wardrobe. I had dozens of clothes given to me by Uncle Jacob's extended family, better known to those in the pack as The Cullens. Yeah, they're so prominent around a town they can't even come into, that they have a capital 'T' on the 'The' part. I've met The Cullens once, and that was Christmas two years ago. They were nice, they were friendly, and they were vampires - part of the reason that Quil hasn't let them near me since, whether it's for my own safety, or for their own health.
Anyways, Alice, a vampire who's probably the nicest person you could meet - after Emily, that is - insisted on buying me lots of presents (a.k.a clothes) for that one occasion, and me being me, I accepted them all - much to Quilly's disappointment. I don't get what his problem is with vampires. OK, apart from the fact that they are his natural enemies, but still, they are kinda nice to just chill out with. (No pun intended.)
So Alice bought me the clothes which, due to my body not developing quickly enough in the past 24 months, still fit me snugly.
I pulled out a pair of Calvin Klein jeans and stroked the denim once. These were my favorite pair, and whenever I actually met Alice Cullen again I would thank her a million and one times. Folding the jeans onto my left arm, I rummaged in the wardrobe for the Green Day t-shirt Uncle Brady had brought me back from a concert last year. I can't deny that when I finally found it underneath a pair of unwashed sweats that I actually squeaked with joy.
I closed the doors to my wardrobe, then proceded in getting dressed into my chosen outfit.
"For God's sakes! Claire Young, ge-" I cut Mom off, feeling equally as pissed as she probably did. Mom was usually carefree, and often didn't worry about me sleeping past my alarm because either way, Quil would come and wake me up in time. Today was for some reason different though, and I quickly realized why. Mom had a job interview in Port Angeles this morning, and if she was rushing around then she would easily be willingly to make me rush, too.
"I'M AWAKE, MOTHER!" I practically screamed, shutting her up. All I did next was quickly brush my hair, then throw it up into a ponytail before heading downstairs to meet with my disgruntled parent.
The stairs creaked comfortingly under my bare feet, and I took them two at a time. Just as I reached the bottom step, the front door which was parallel to me opened to reveal the guy that I was pathetically falling in love with.
"Morning, Claire," He grinned that familiar grin at me; the one that forced me to subconsciously grin back.
I took in Quil before I replied. He was dressed in the uniform that both packs wore, which consisted of a pair of shorts or cut-offs, and either a wife-beater or nothing else at all. Today, Quil had nothing covering his muscled torso, and I had to bite my lip.
"Hey," Was all I could manage in the end.
He just continued to watch me the way he always did, and I made my way past him into the kitchen, where Mom was bustling around with her cell to her ear. She gave me a thin smile, then turned back to trying to make herself a cup of coffee whilst she talked to whoever she was talking to.
I slumped myself in one of the chairs that surrounded our small yet cluttered table, and sighed as Quil did the same. Even if my feelings for him were changing, his actions were not. It was always the same routine, day after day, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I picked up a piece of fruit from the bowl that sat in the centre of the table, next to a pile of unsorted papers - which was mainly my untouched homework from last semester.
"OK, OK, I'll get on as soon as I get back from the interview," I heard Mom say into her phone and I began pealing my slightly green banana. Quil met my eyes from across the table, and he smiled goofily at me.
"Done all your homework?" He asked in a quiet, yet teasing tone.
I rolled my dark eyes at him, bit into the banana, swallowed and then simply said, "Nope."
He shook his buzzed head, laughing slightly to himself, "Ya know, maybe if you did some work you wouldn't be falling behind in your classes. It worries me that you take your education with such little interest,"
"It's not like you paid attention in school, so don't talk shit," I told him, and he frowned. I had him there, and I was momentarily triumphant.
"I had a reason," He mumbled shortly under his breath.
"And so do I," I just ate some more banana before I could say anything else stupid.
"Laziness doesn't count," He laughed, and I felt my cheeks blush a deep red.
"Neither does having a tail," His laughter stopped short, and all I could do was roll my eyes at him. I may be winning the argument, but it's not like I was making myself appealing to this guy. Weren't guys attracted by beautifully naive damsels who always said the right thing at the right time? Guys definitely weren't attracted to flat-chested fifteen years old who couldn't keep their mouths shut.
Our silence was broken by Mom hanging up and then realizing that Quil, who she'd practically adopted, was in the room, too.
"OH! G'morning Quil!" I'm sad to say that my forty-something year old Mom actually squealed out that last sentence.
"Morning, Marie," He gave her a half-hearted smile, and I felt my heart flutter, even though it wasn't directed at me. Quil had always been a charmer when my Mother was concerned, and Mom had always babied him as much as she did me. She knew about the pack, and she treated them as if they were in fact just neighborhood strays or something (not as in leaving bowls of dog foot out by the road, more like leaving spare clothes in the bushes behind our house).
Mom put her cell down on the table, still smiling to herself as she began chattering away to us like every morning. It was only 6:30 something, I was almost dead on my feet, and they were actually holding a conversation. They may be the two people I care for most in the world, but they still piss the hell outta me at times.
At one point during their little back and forth, Quil looked at me. And I mean, he really looked at me - like as if he'd seen me for the first time. As if he saw me differently. And I'll admit, whatever had clicked in his mind, I was extremely pleased with it. I hadn't actually heard whatever Mom had said to make him give me that look, but I'd heard the word 'lifetime'.
"So, what do you think Claire?" I didn't know what I thought, let alone what they were talking about. I was too busy staring at my best friend, who had now turned away from me to look at the small TV we had on the counter by the fridge. It was on cartoons, as usual, and he was slowly becoming hypnotized by them, as usual. Reluctantly, I diverted my gaze from him, and met my Mom's. She was expecting the response which I had not yet mustered.
"Huh?"
She sighed impatiently, giving Quil a meaniful look, which I guess he didn't catch. So she repeated to me what she'd just suggested to him. Even though Quil has more than an average lifetime to finish school, you'll get older and graduate, or you might not graduate at all unless you get better grades. So, we've thought about it, and we want to enroll you in Summer school. All I could do was stare at her.
"Summer school?" I breathed.
"Yes, Sum-" She started, but I interrupted with screaming.
"YOU WANT ME TO GO TO SUMMER FUCKING SCHOOL?" And lets just say that Mom wasn't happy with my use of the 'F' word...